The invention relates to a conveyor system for transporting articles, having    a) a rail system which            aa) includes a plurality of line sections;        ab) includes at least one set of points by means of which, via a points drive, a first line section may optionally be connected to a second line section or a third line section of the rail system;            b) at least one drivable transport carriage which may be moved along a movement path on the rail system;    c) a communication system which includes at least one communication line that extends along the movement path of the at least one transport carriage;    d) a carriage communication unit which is arranged on the at least one transport carriage and cooperates with the at least one communication line,
In commercially known conveyor systems of this kind, points are triggered in conventional manner by means of a central control which coordinates the complete sequence of transport of the articles. To this end, the central control may communicate with the transport carriages by way of the communication line and transmit travel parameters such as the destination, or the speed to be observed, and initiate deceleration or acceleration procedures for each individual transport carriage. Using position detection equipment known from the prior art, the position of each transport carriage on the rail system is detected in real time and transmitted to the central control. Depending on the data available thereto, the central control accordingly actuates a set of points by directly triggering the drive thereof.
To this end, the drive of each set of points is typically connected to the central control by way of a separate cable connection associated therewith. Given the conventional dimensions of a conveyor system, this necessitates corresponding electrical installations on a large scale and over long distances between the central control and the points. These electrical installations have a corresponding effect on the overall costs of a conveyor system of this kind.